A medical expert, Dr Mohammed Adam, in Kano has advocated for the use of religious approach to address the menace of drug and substance abuse among youth and women in Kano state.
Dr Adam, who is the Chief Executive Officer, West African Behavioural Health Addiction Recovery Rehabilitation Support Foundation (WABHARR) a Ghana based NGO gave the advice in a guest lecture during the celebration of 2019 international Day against Drug Abuse and illicit drug trafficking at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.
He emphasised that “the essence of the workshop is mainly to address the problem of addiction in Nigeria and especially in Kano and to reflect the power of our Ulamas in helping us with spiritual aspect of addressing addiction.
“Addiction is a complex disease not just the medical class that can address this problem but the main thing is we need to coorperate with our faith-based organizations. Our Ummahs, our religion has been the light and our future and our life and if you do not protect it and protect the sanctity of islam we stand the chance of losing our future through our children who are addicted to drugs because the use of drugs and alcohol are incompatible with Islamic teachings and values.”
He called for the adoption of a 12 step model, Milati Islami to use the holy quran to educate the youth on the position of the religion against drunkeness and substance intoxication.
“We want to use what we called evidence based that is called cognitive behavioural therapy to set up groups in different schools where kids who are from Islamic background will have the opportunity to go through the steps.
“The steps is all about 12 and the first thing is just like in the Quran the first thing is to accepting that we are powerless and Allah is the one that can guide us and when you say that and you accept that you move to step 2 which has to do with accepting that you have the disease of addiction and with your commitment to the will of Allah you will address this thing. So we want to bring people back to remember their faith, what you met your father doing if you are deviating away from it think about it.”
He described the spate of addiction in the society as an indication of a breakdown of the social norms and family institutions due to modernity.
